Deceptions
by Lalita88
Summary: When Sasuke answers a 911 call, the last thing he expects to find is his ex-wife and her adopted daughter in danger with their lives on the line. It doesn't take long for him to realize he'll do whatever it takes to protect the woman he still loves, and the family he swore he never wanted. Modern-day AU!
1. One

**_one_**

 _ **this isn't how I thought we'd meet again**_

There was blood on the front porch.

Sasuke's pulse kicked up a significant notch and he called for backup, his gun already in hand. He walked slowly to the end of the porch, his breath mixing with the early morning air to create a misty haze around him. Sasuke peered into the window of the dining room and saw that the table and chairs were toppled over. Clearly, there'd been some kind of struggle.

Sasuke ground his teeth. There was no sign of the intruders- or his ex-wife, Sakura, who had made a frantic 911 call only minutes earlier to the Konoha Sheriff's office. Sasuke had been on his way home after pulling an all-nighter and had intercepted the call right as he was driving by her place.

 _"Someone's trying to break in!"_

That was all she had managed to say before the line went dead.

There was no bad weather to cause a dead phone line, no maintenance in the area.

Sasuke wasn't sure what to expect when he pulled up at the small house Sakura had recently inherited, but he'd parked by the mailbox a good twenty or so yards from the house so the sound of his truck wouldn't alert anyone. At first, he'd figured it would probably turn out to be a false alarm, or else he'd find Sakura cowering inside while some would-be burglars made their escape. But as his eyes took in the blood and toppled furniture, he knew this was something different.

Something worse. How much worse, he had yet to judge.

He maneuvered carefully around the drops of blood and tried the doorknob. It was unlocked. Sasuke eased open the front door and instantly took in more drops of blood in the foyer. He wasn't a forensics expert by any means, but it looked like a high-velocity splatter to him. Someone had been hit, and hit hard.

More debris were scattered across the entryway, including a landline phone that'd obviously been ripped from the wall. And an empty infant car seat, tossed carelessly onto its side.

He knew Sakura had adopted a baby, so the sight of the seat wasn't entirely unexpected, but it put a knot in his gut to see it kicked to the side like that. Where was the baby? And where the hell was Sakura? If that was her blood he'd been stepping across, it was possible she was hurt so badly she couldn't even call out to him.

The knot twisted tighter.

Sasuke silenced his radio. His backup wouldn't be there for at least ten more minutes, but he couldn't afford to waste any more time, especially if Sakura could be bleeding out. He stepped quickly inside, all his senses heightened, and scanned the corners of the house. There was no one in his line of sight. Ears pricked, he thought he heard some movement in the adjacent living room. Sasuke peered around the edge of the wall and for a moment, his heart stopped.

 _Sakura._

Blood covered her forehead and matted the side of her light pink hair. Her eyes were wide over the swatch of silver duct tape that covered her mouth; that same tape had been used to tie her hands and feet, but despite her bounds and her obvious injury she was trying to crawl towards him.

Sasuke hurried forward, careful to still keep a close watch around them, and eased the tape back from her mouth as gently as he could.

"They're upstairs," she whispered, the words rushing out with her breath.

"Who?" Sasuke asked, looking in that direction.

"I think they're kidnappers." Sasuke's gaze returned to his ex-wife, who was still struggling futilely against her ankle and wrist bands. He was tempted to leave her tied up and somewhere safe while he dealt with the situation, but one look into her fiercely determined eyes told him she'd find a way to follow him anyways.

"Get me out of these, would you?" she snapped.

Sighing, Sasuke pulled out his pocketknife and sliced through the layers. The moment Sakura was free she sprang to her feet- or rather, she tried. She stumbled and probably would have fallen flat on her face if Sasuke hadn't caught her. "Easy," he said, annoyed with the surge of memories that assaulted him with her warm body in his arms. "If you barrel up there this way, you're going to get us both killed."

Sakura blanched. He took her by the shoulder and forced her to look at him. "How many are there?"

"Two, maybe three. I saw them on the front porch and called for help, but then one of them hit me and they tied me up."

That explained the blood, but not why they'd broken into the house in the first place.

Sakura seemed to hear his unspoken question, because she drew in a steadying breath before going on. "I heard them say something… they said something about the baby," she said, voice breaking.

"Where is she?"

"Sarada's sleeping upstairs." Sakura bit her lip and tears flooded her eyes, but she forced them back. "At least, she was."

Sarada. Sasuke figured that was her adopted daughter's name. It was one of the few names they'd been able to agree upon, when Sakura had been able to get him to talk about it at all. A part of him was surprised she'd gone with it anyways.

 _"How about this one, Sasuke-kun?"_

 _Sasuke looked lazily over at his wife, her nose still engrossed in the enormous book of baby names. "What about Kumiko?"_

 _Sasuke grimaced. "You're wasting your time. We're not having girls," he declared._

 _"You sound so sure about that," Sakura complained. She carefully marked her place in the book, then stood up and made her way to his side._

 _"Why don't we find out?" she suggested, wrapping her arms around his neck._

He gave himself a mental shake. If there were two to three kidnappers upstairs, then they needed to get up there _now._ He listened intently but didn't hear any sign of movement; he hadn't seen any extra vehicles when he'd driven up, either. Of course it could still be a simple burglary and the men had mentioned the baby to get Sakura's cooperation, but something told him this was more than that. The house was off the beaten path, and it'd been empty for months. Sakura had only gotten in town a few days earlier, or so he thought the gossip mill said.

After their bitter split, Sasuke tried to avoid any and all gossip about his ex.

"Stay here," he commanded curtly.

She didn't, of course. Even on good days she was nothing short of die-hard stubborn, and Sasuke knew even as he gave the order she would disobey him.

He sighed again. "Hn. Stay quiet and stay behind me," he amended, and was relieved when she listened. She was still shaky and her breath was coming way too fast, but she kept pace with him as he eased up the stairs. They'd made it just a few steps from the top when the sounds of hurried footsteps and whispers stopped him cold.

"They're in my aunt's old bedroom," Sakura informed him, her breath tickling the back of his neck. "I'm using it as a temporary office."

Better there than the nursery, but that still didn't make things any safer. Sasuke eased onto the stairwell and had to take hold of Sakura as she tried to dart past him. She glared but he ignored her; the nursery was dark and quiet, the only movement coming from the room on their right. He held his breath and glanced around the edge of the office door.

The office was in shambles, things tossed and turned around all over the place. Two men dressed in black were hurriedly stuffing things into a sack, including Sakura's laptop and stacks of paper. With their backs turned they didn't notice him; Sasuke took in the guns at their hips.

"Two minutes," one of them called out. "We don't to get mixed up with the locals."

 _Locals._ Sasuke's lips quirked. They clearly had no idea what they were dealing with. It was obvious they knew Sakura had called, but he doubted they realized he was driving right by when she'd needed him.

He glanced back to make sure she was okay and had to swallow a curse. She was inching her way to the nursery, which probably wasn't the best idea, but Sasuke had his hands full at the moment.

"You think we got it all?" one of the morons asked, still oblivious to his silent presence.

"Can't be sure," the other replied. "Let's torch the place just in case."

Sasuke didn't have time to try to warn Sakura or get her and the baby out of there. He heard a vehicle approaching. Naruto, no doubt. The dobe had the sense to keep the siren off but the crunch of tires on gravel was enough to alert the intruders because they pivoted. Their eyes widened at the sight of Sasuke standing there, weapon already drawn.

"Deputy Uchiha Sasuke," he drawled. "If you're smart, you'll drop what you're holding and put your weapons down."

Both men decided to raise their guns instead. No ordinary guns either, but weapons rigged with silencers. Sasuke threw himself to the side as one of them fired and the bullet tore through the doorjamb.

Shit.

He hadn't particularly wanted to get into a gunfight without backup, and especially not while Sakura and Sarada were still in the house. Another shot came after him and he backed swiftly into the hallway to avoid it, readying to return fire. Sakura was only halfway down the hall and he latched onto her, pulling her into an adjacent doorway. It was her old bedroom. Sasuke noticed distractedly it was decorated the same way it'd been in high school.

"The bullets could hit Sarada," she whispered fiercely, fighting to get away from him. He swore when she slipped out of his grip but she didn't run into the hallway again. She rushed to her nightstand and pulled out a handgun.

Well, that was new.

"Sasuke?!" a voice shouted. Naruto. And from the sound of it, he was already in the house.

"Upstairs," he called back. Even though the men had shot with silencers, Sasuke figured Naruto had heard the gunshots and hopefully figured out the situation wasn't good. Then bad went to worse with the sound of soft, whimpering cries.

Sasuke had to put Sakura in a body lock to keep her from racing into the hall, where the men could easily kill her by putting a bullet through her stubborn, bloody and still beautiful forehead. "Let's get out the fuck out of here," they heard one of the men growl, and Sakura redoubled her efforts to escape.

Sasuke didn't want them to get away either, but he also didn't want any more shots fired in the vicinity of the baby and his ex-wife. He pulled her to the side of the bed so he'd be in a better position to protect them both and angled himself for a good shot if the men came running past them. If they went down the hallway instead of the stairs, he'd definitely be able to put one or both out of commision before they reached the nursery. If they did run down the stairs then he'd shove Sakura behind him and give pursuit.

The seconds crawled by and no one emerged from the office, though he could still hear scrambling around inside. Sasuke's hand tightened painfully on his gun, the need to protect Sakura warring with his anger and fury at the masked men. "They're getting away!" Naruto shouted, and Sasuke let her go to race into the office. No one.

But the window was wide open.

Sasuke frowned. He hadn't spotted a ladder when he'd driven up, and a jump that high would do some damage to whoever was stupid enough to try it. "They're on foot," Naruto called from outside. "I'm in pursuit!"

Sasuke raced to the window and looked down. He instantly spotted the two men and the portable rope ladder they'd used. One of them turned and fired a shot at his head; the bullet tore through the window and sent a shower of glass across the room. Sasuke felt the sting of a cut near his eye but he ignored it and took aim.

He fired and his shot slammed into the nearest man's shoulder. The guy stumbled but his partner took hold of him and they ran toward the barn. Sasuke got a glimpse of a black SUV parked inside before both men barrelled into the vehicle and backed out. Sasuke readied himself to take a shot at the driver when he saw something else.

A second rope ladder, three windows over. Sakura screamed and he bolted out of the office and into the nursery, where he faced the sight of an empty crib and his hysterical ex-wife. "They have her," Sakura sobbed. "They took Sarada."

Sasuke pulled her back from the window so he could get a better look. The windows of the SUV were heavily tinted, making it too dark for him to see inside. But he did see Naruto. "Aim for the tires!" he yelled, but when Naruto took aim and fired his shot bounced off the bumper.

"Sasuke, please! Please go after her!" Sakura begged, and the sound was like a knife to his heart.

He barrelled down the stairs and to the door, but it was already too late. His shot hit gravel as the SUV sped away.

* * *

Everything inside Sakura was spinning out of control.

She wanted to keep screaming, to somehow force those men to bring back Sarada, but more than anything she wanted to wake up and realize this had all been a terrible nightmare. Nothing more.

"Give me back my baby, you bastards!" she yelled, but she had no idea if anyone even heard her. She felt dizzy and her head was pounding, but she held tight onto the railing and forced herself to go faster down the steps. Sasuke was waiting to catch her but she pushed past him and almost fell onto the porch, looking around frantically for any sign of Sarada or her kidnappers.

All she saw was the wall of dust the SUV's tires had kicked up as it sped out of her driveway.

"No," she said, as if by saying the word she could make it true. "This can't be happening."

"No license plates," a familiar voice called out to them, and Sakura dimly realized it was Naruto, Sasuke's best friend and partner on the force. Her best friend too, once upon a time, though she suspected that might have changed after she left town without a word to him. And ignored his calls and voicemails until they eventually went away. "I'm calling in a description of the vehicle."

Sakura knew every cop in the area would respond and try to stop the kidnappers, but she couldn't just sit around waiting for that to happen. She had to do something. _Anything_. Even if it meant risking her own life.

All that mattered was saving Sarada.

"We have to go after them," she begged Sasuke, who had already moved to his truck. She was willing to sacrifice her pride if need be. He looked down at her briefly, frowning.

"You need to stay here," he countered, but he didn't stop her when she threw open the passenger side of his truck and dropped down onto the seat beside him. Her fingers tightened on the gun she still held, although she wasn't sure she could see straight enough to shoot.

The memory of Sarada's cries tore through her, echoing in her head. Sakura closed her eyes and tried to make them stop. She felt tears trickle down her cheeks and heard herself say in a small, broken voice she hated, "I can't lose her."

"You won't," Sasuke said firmly.

She wanted to believe him so badly.

"Put on your seatbelt," he said, glancing over at her as they sped onto the road.

Sakura struggled to do as said with shaking hands that didn't want to listen. To the left was a dead end, to the right the main road. She prayed the kidnappers stayed on it long enough for them to find them. Her hands clenched on the dash as Sasuke steadily accelerated, the trees rushing by in a blur.

"I don't see them," she swore, cursing the sharp curves on this stretch of road. There were too many blind spots and old ranch trails on the outskirts of Konoha. Too many places where a vehicle could pull into and hide. Sakura felt like a vise was crushing her heart, slowly stealing the air from her lungs.

"Who the fuck are these guys?" Sasuke asked, and she winced.

"I don't know," she answered, shaking her head. She'd been asking herself the same question.

"Think," Sasuke insisted. "You need to tell me everything you remember."

Sakura was finding it difficult to focus on anything at the moment, but she did her best. "I came down to get a cup of coffee, and I saw two of them on the porch. But I could swear the blow to my head came from behind."

Sasuke muttered something under his breath she couldn't catch. "There must have been a third. He probably took the baby while the other two were searching your office."

Just the thought of it tore Sakura's heart into pieces. A stranger stealing her baby from under her nose while she lay trussed up with tape, helpless downstairs. Who would want to hurt a precious baby? Sarada was only just twelve months old. She hadn't even taken her first steps yet, though Sakura suspected they were coming soon. Surely no one would want to hurt someone so young and innocent? Maybe it was a ransom, then. Sakura didn't have much, but she would give them everything she had, if only Sarada was okay.

"What do you think they wanted?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura was about to go with the ransom idea, but then she froze, another thought flashing through her mind. It couldn't be _that_.

Could it?

"What?" Sasuke pressed when she didn't answer.

Sakura swallowed on a painfully dry throat, struggling to get the words out. "I hired a private investigator a few months ago to make sure everything was okay with the adoption."

Sasuke glanced at her and Sakura felt her cheeks heat. "I didn't do anything illegal to get Sarada," she snapped. "But… but…"

Her explanation ground to a halt as Sakura struggled to figure out just how much she should tell him. Not the whole truth, that was for sure. Not now, maybe not ever.

"You trust this guy you hired?" Sasuke didn't glance at her again. If anything his foot pressed even harder on the pedal, taking the sharp curves with dangerous speed.

"I thought I did," she confessed. "He had good references and he told me he had experience doing background checks for other families with recently adopted babies. His name is Hatake Kakashi."

Sakura felt her tears come on again. She struggled to breathe normally as her fear took hold again too, tightening its grip till it felt like it was choking the very life out of her.

"Focus," Sasuke said sharply, sensing she was about to lose it. "Did he find anything suspicious about the adoption?"

It took her a moment to get her voice working. "I don't think so. I was supposed to get a report this morning."

Sasuke cursed. "What?" she asked, dreading his answer.

"They were going through papers in your office. They took your laptop, too. They were looking for something."

 _Oh God._ What if it had been the investigator's report they were after? If so, she hadn't even received it yet. She'd planned to check her email after that cup of much-needed coffee.

"What exactly was the P.I. looking for?" Sasuke asked, shooting her a sideways glance.

Sakura struggled to put her thoughts in order so she could answer as honestly as possible. It was difficult, not the least because she was still straining her eyes for a sight of the black SUV. "I just asked him to do background checks on the lawyers and the woman who gave birth to Sarada," she answered.

And maybe he'd found something. But what could he have discovered that would make a team of kidnappers target her baby?

"You're bleeding again," Sasuke said, sounding annoyed as he shoved a handful of tissues from a box in between the seats in her direction.

"I'm so sorry," she snapped, gingerly pressing the wad to her forehead. "I'll try not to get any of it on the seat."

Just then they rounded the next curve and she spotted the SUV. It wasn't racing ahead of them or pulled off to the side.

It had stopped right in the middle of the road.

Sasuke swore and slammed on the brakes, trying to push her down into the seat at the same time. Sakura batted him away. There was no chance she was staying out of this. Especially when she caught sight of a man dressed all in black holding Sarada.

"Wait!" Sasuke shouted when she bolted from the truck before it had fully stopped.

Lurching, Sakura stumbled to face the man. One arm was holding her baby, the other loosely wrapped around the gun. It didn't take her long to realize why he wasn't taking aim- two gunmen were in the SUV, and their weapons were already trained on her.

And on Sasuke.

Sakura was relieved to see one of the gunmen was bleeding badly.

Sasuke drew his own weapon but Sakura kept hers lowered, not wanting to antagonize them further when Sarada was so close. "Give me my baby," she demanded, hating how helpless her voice sounded. "Please, I'll give you whatever you want."

"We'll trade her for you," the man said in a surprisingly soft voice for someone so big. He towered over her, at least six feet tall with bulging shoulders. Sakura was sure he was the one who had knocked her out.

"No," Sasuke answered for her. "Hand her the baby and drop your weapons. You've got five seconds to get down on the ground."

Sasuke sounded like he always did- a man in charge with a badge to back him up, a man used to instant obedience, but Sakura seriously doubted the kidnappers would just lay down their arms and quietly do what he said.

And she was right.

The man holding Sarada stared intently at her face and she stared back, searching for some sign of sincerity. "You want to save your little girl, pinkie, I'd do what we say," the driver interjected.

"Don't," Sasuke rasped at her as she took a step forward.

"It's the only way," the hulking one said again. He even sounded sad about it. "We have to know what you learned and who you told."

Sakura stopped in her tracks, confused. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said weakly. "I didn't learn anything."

"Time's up," the driver said, pointing his gun straight at Sakura. She closed her eyes and waited for the attack to come, but it didn't. Instead the big one charged towards her. Sarada's blanket unrolled and Sakura watched, sick to her stomach, as her baby started to fall.

"Sasuke! Take her!" she cried, but he was already there. The sound of a truck skidding around the corner caught the gunmen's attention and Sakura felt the grip loosen on her arm as her would-be kidnapper threw himself out the way. Naruto had obviously taken the turn too fast; Sasuke grabbed her and threw her to the side as Naruto crashed into the side of the SUV. The air filled with the sound of metal scraping against metal and Sakura's strangled scream.

"Naruto!" she cried, torn between the desire to check on her childhood friend and the need to protect her baby.

Sasuke thrust Sarada into her arms and darted forward, motioning her towards his truck. Sakura didn't wait to be told twice; she tightened her grip on Sarada and jumped inside, ducking her head and hunching over her daughter to protect her from any stray gunshots. Miraculously, Sarada wasn't crying; she looked dazed, as if trying to figure out how so much could have happened in such a short space of time. "You and me both, sweetheart," Sakura whispered, clutching her closer.

Sakura heard the squeal of tires on asphalt, followed by a shot. She looked up in time to see the black, bashed-in vehicle coming right towards them. There was no time for her to reach the steering wheel and get the truck out of the way. Sakura braced herself for the collision, but it never came.

The driver jerked the wheel at the last second, dodging the truck before taking again to the road.

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes:**_ **Well, this is new territory for me! But seriously, who wasn't filled with suspense after reading Naruto Gaiden last week? So I decided that rather than wallow in self-pity and rage at Kishimoto, I'd turn my pain into inspiration, and (lo and behold) _Deceptions_ was born. Also please note that this plot is greatly inspired by Delores Fossen's _Reining in Justice_ \- the whole time I was reading it I couldn't help but think what a great Sasu/Saku story it would be!**

 **Next up: who Sarada's real parents are, and why Sasuke hasn't been around for the past twelve months (because 12 months is forgivable, Kishi, but 12 years is most definitely not).**


	2. two

_**Author's Notes:**_ **Normally I save these for the end, but I got so much feedback last time (particularly about Sarada being adopted) that I figured I better start off with some explanations! *holds up hands in surrender* Hopefully after reading this chapter's title, everyone can calm down, breathe easy, and enjoy the next adventure with some peace of mind. :)**

 **Oh, and this is the part where I remind everyone that this fic is rated M for a REASON. Particularly sexual ones. So please make sure you're old enough/mature enough/whatever enough to read on!**

 **Lastly, this chapter is dedicated to crazymel, who sent me such a heartfelt message I couldn't help but post this chapter a little early in answer to her questions. :) I'll see you all down below with some more thanks/thoughts/hints before next time!**

* * *

 _ **two**_

 _ **hey, I just saw you/and this is crazy/but you're a father/and here's our baby**_

Sasuke finished his call with the Sheriff's Office and watched as a nearby medic finished putting the bandage on Sakura's head. They'd already cleaned the blood away, but an ugly green and purple bruise was quickly forming. She was scowling, no doubt wishing she could apply it herself. He shook his head ruefully, thinking that some things never changed.

Then his eyes fell to the bundle in her arms.

The little girl seemed to be sleeping peacefully, but every now and then Sarada suckled lustily at the bottle a nurse had brought over. He didn't realize he was staring until the medic walked away and Sakura delicately cleared her throat.

"Is there any sign of the kidnappers?" she asked. She was still ash pale and trembling, no doubt torn between relief from being safe at the hospital and fear that the unknown men were still out there.

Sasuke shook his head and gritted his teeth. "No," he admitted.

"Oh."

Her one word seemed to carry worlds of condemnation and he bristled. "There's a crime scene investigation team headed to your place. They might find some DNA or prints to tell us who was there."

Sakura nodded. "You shot one of them, didn't you?"

"Aa." Sasuke knew there would be blood in the backyard for the labs to trace, and if the guy was in the system, they'd have a good start. First-time offenders generally didn't commit felonies like attempted kidnap and murder.

He turned to go, ready to put some space between them, but Sakura spoke again. "Sasuke… arigato. You saved our lives."

"Hn." True, but only because she'd gotten lucky he was in the right place at the right time. Sasuke hated to admit it, but luck might not be on their side again.

All his instincts had been screaming for him to turn around and give pursuit when the SUV sped away, but he knew it would have been too big of a risk with Sakura and Sarada with him and Naruto temporarily out of commision. He wanted to catch the criminals, but he didn't want to do it by putting Sakura, the baby or his partner in further danger.

Adrenaline still pumped through him. It was as struggle to sit down next to Sakura in the emergency room examining stall, but he forced himself to do it. The past two years he'd strictly avoided all contact with his ex and she with him, but this was business. Nothing personal.

Or so he told himself.

That was the problem with Sakura. It was always too personal when she was involved. Before the divorce they'd been married for three years and dated for five before that (the last year of high school and their journey through college, she for pre-med and he for criminal justice), but they'd known each other since they were kids. He threw away her homemade valentine in first grade and made her cry (later his mother had chastised him for his rudeness, but he didn't care). When they were fourteen his mom died of cancer and his older brother skipped town (she caught him behind the bleachers and held him in her arms while he tried to pretend he wasn't crying). When they were seventeen he fucked her for the first time in the very same place after winning a home game (the same way he'd fantasized about doing ever since she made the cheerleading team).

...

 _"S-Sasuke-kun," she gasped as he trailed his hands up her thighs, flipping up her short skirt to reveal a pair of plain cotton panties with pink hearts underneath. She blushed and he watched, fascinated, as the rosy hue spread across her cheeks and stained the tips of her earlobes._

 _She whimpered when he cupped her in his hand and the sound drove him crazy. He slipped a hand inside her waistband and probed gently at her wet heat, groaning at the thought of being wrapped inside. His self-control almost shattered when she reached a tentative hand inside his pants and shyly mimicked his movements. "Sakura…" he grabbed her wrist and forced her to stop._

 _"What is it?" she asked, blinking in confusion._

 _He touched his forehead to hers. "Are you sure you want to do this?"_

 _She lifted her lips to his and kissed him harder than he'd ever been kissed before. "Does that answer your question?" she asked breathlessly when they broke apart for air._

...

After their split two years ago, Sakura had moved to Suna and took a job as a physician's assistant in the major hospital there. He thought he would never see her again. He'd almost convinced himself he was just fine with that when she barged back into his life with that phone call, bringing a boatload of trouble with her.

"I was only going to be here for a few weeks," Sakura volunteered, seemingly following his train of thought. Sasuke shifted uncomfortably on the chair, hoping she hadn't picked up on everything he'd been thinking about. "Just enough to get the place ready to sell. If they'd come after me at my apartment in Suna they might have succeeded."

"Did the investigator visit you at the apartment?"

She nodded. "Kakashi came earlier this week."

Sasuke really didn't like the timing of that. "Did you tell him you were coming back to your aunt's in Konoha?"

The question came out rougher than he intended and she winced. She started to shake her head, but then alarm shot through her eyes. "He saw my suitcases and Sarada's baby things and asked if we were going on a trip. I told him I inherited my aunt's house and was going to sell it." Her hand shot out and clutched his. "You don't think Kakashi had anything to do with those kidnappers?"

"Maybe," Sasuke said evasively, trying to ignore the feel of her touch on his skin. The P.I. seemed like the most likely suspect right now, but experience had taught him the most obvious solution wasn't always the answer. "Naruto's trying to contact him now."

It was also possible the investigator had discovered something, especially if Sakura _had_ participated in an illegal adoption, and someone badly wanted to cover it up. Sakura might not even know herself if she'd done anything illegal, but her evasive answers in the truck earlier roused his suspicions. She would need to be questioned thoroughly, and Sasuke wasn't looking forward to hearing the answers.

The door to the examining room opened and a nurse stuck her head in. "You'll be able to go soon. We're just waiting on some paperwork from the doctor."

"Thanks, Shizune," Sakura said.

"No problem, sweetie." Shizune smiled gently. Sasuke recalled that they'd been co-workers before when Sakura worked at the local clinic and he scowled, hoping to send her on her way faster. Shizune was the one who'd suggested his wife seek alternative fertility treatments, after one in vitro procedure after another resulted only in failure and heartbreak. If he couldn't blame her for Sakura's near-death experience after a bad reaction to one of the meds, he could damn well blame her for showing his ex-wife the way. "I'll be at the nurse's station if you need me. Get some rest with your beautiful baby girl while we get you out of here as soon as we can."

Soon couldn't come soon enough for Sasuke. He needed to put some space between himself and Sakura and put it there fast, but that couldn't happen until he got the information he needed.

"Why'd you decide to go ahead and adopt a baby?" he asked after Shizune left, figuring it was the simplest question to get started with. "That can't have been easy, deciding to be a single parent."

Fire flashed in her green eyes. Maybe it wasn't exactly the safest subject right now, considering that it'd been at the root of their break-up.

"I decided not to wait any longer for the right fertility treatment. Or for Mr. Right," she snapped, then paused just long enough for him to understand he was most definitely in the Mr. Wrong category. Sasuke scowled. He hadn't needed the pause to know that; he'd known from the beginning he was wrong for her, but it hadn't stopped him from selfishly marrying her and taking all she had to give. Hell, he'd even tried to give her the baby she so desperately wanted.

Something of his thoughts must have shown on his face because Sakura's face softened. "You know how much I've always wanted to be a mother," she said, but the bitterness was gone.

He did, and that one statement said it all. Sakura had always known what she wanted and gone for it. She'd pursued pregnancy with the same unrelenting determination she'd once pursued him with, his reluctance and her body's own unsuitability be damned. It was entirely possible she'd gone for it and cut the wrong kind of corners.

"If you hired an investigator, you must have suspected something wasn't right," he said, and that closed, wary look came across her face again. She looked as if this was the last thing on earth she wanted to discuss, with him least of all.

Too bad.

"Not… suspected. I was just worried," she explained, biting her lip. "You know, because of all the stuff I was hearing on the news."

Sasuke could understand that, too. The media had been all over black-market baby rings lately after busting a big operation in Oto. Pregnant women who were kidnapped and their babies sold, birth mothers being murdered or in some cases managing to escape. It was the kind of dark, scary stuff the news went crazy over and people ate up like popcorn. Maybe Sakura wanted to make sure Sarada's birth mother wasn't one of those victims. If she was, then she could step in and take Sarada away even after the adoption was finalized.

"Could this be related to something personal?"

"Like what?"

"A boyfriend," he said, watching her carefully for a reaction. "Or an ex who wants to get back at you?"

Sakura shook her head. "You're the only ex I have who hates me," she said, looking away.

Sasuke opened his mouth to say he didn't hate her. That he'd only hated her desire for him to be a father, to turn into someone he wasn't. But he kept his mouth shut, deciding it was better they didn't go there.

"But no. There's no recent ex. No recent… well, anything since Sarada," Sakura said, and a piece of him felt relieved. Sasuke told himself it was because he was happy he didn't have yet another lead to chase down during his investigation, and not because he hated the thought of another man in her life.

"What about with your job? Did you ever have any disgruntled patients or family members at the hospital?"

"No," she said, and he believed her. Sakura had a way of making everyone happy she worked with, from the sleep-deprived doctors to the patients staring death in the face. Only he had seen what it cost her when she stumbled home at night after staying late to help just one more person, to stay with just one more person's family through a crisis.

Sasuke noticed her hands were shaking and realized she was probably about to deal with an adrenaline crash, but he was totally unprepared when a small sob escaped her throat and she rested her head on his shoulder. He couldn't push her away, but he couldn't let himself put his arms around her either the way his body was demanding. "I'm so scared," she whispered.

She had good reason to be, but Sasuke didn't think honesty was the best policy on his part at the moment.

The guys who'd broken into her house hadn't been amateurs. They'd clearly been after information, and taken care to secure her laptop, cell phone and files. "I called my attorney, Kabuto Yakushi, too" Sakura said, breaking into his train of thought. "Do you think they'd go after him?"

Sasuke shrugged. At this point he couldn't rule out what the attackers would or wouldn't do, so he made a quick phone call to the Sheriff's Office once again to make sure someone checked in with the attorney. "Who else did you have contact with?"

"No one. I've been spending almost all my time with Sarada."

The door opened again and Sasuke moved instinctively to stand in front of Sakura and Sarada, protecting them. It wasn't the kidnappers or a nurse or the doctor, however.

It was Naruto.

An awkward silence fell in the room. As fast as he'd been he hadn't moved fast enough; it was clear Naruto had seen the close contact between them, and he frowned. Sasuke felt the disapproval coming off Naruto like waves, but he could tell it wasn't just the loaded past that was bothering his long-time partner.

"Someone torched Granny Tsunade's house before the investigation team could get there and have a look around," he said bluntly.

Sakura gasped and clutched her baby even closer. "They burned down my aunt's house?" she asked, her voice quavering.

"They did clean up, too, on the blood in the yard," Naruto said, speaking more to Sasuke than to her. "But they might've left something behind."

The two men shared a look, both thinking that seemed highly unlikely, but Sakura didn't need to know that.

Tears were finally falling freely down her face. Sasuke tried to ignore them and focus instead on this latest turn of events. Obviously someone was behind these guys, someone with a lot of money and one hell of a motive. But what?

"I have to get out of here," Sakura sobbed. "I have to keep her safe."

Sasuke and Naruto exchanged another glance. "She needs to give us a statement," Naruto reminded him, and he nodded his head reluctantly. He hadn't forgotten, but he also didn't think Sakura was in any shape to do that.

He rethought that when he looked at her. She was no longer shaking, but she was glaring at Naruto through the haze of tears in her eyes. "I'm right here, you know," she said. "You can talk _to_ me."

Naruto tensed. "Well, that's news to me," he snapped, and she recoiled as if slapped. Sasuke glared and Naruto pulled himself together with effort. "Make sure you get her statement," the blonde called over his shoulder as he stormed from the room.

"I'll do whatever it takes to stop them," Sakura said quietly, heart aching. "I can give you a statement now, if you'd like."

"We'll be the ones doing the stopping," he reminded her. "You need to be in protective custody."

She blinked. "Whose?"

Sasuke thought quickly. Naruto obviously wasn't a choice now, and he was the only one Sasuke trusted besides himself to keep his ex-wife and her child safe. "Mine, for now," he finally said.

Sakura looked away.

"Who was involved in the adoption?" he asked. She instantly went pale, and his hands clenched into fists. _Fucking hell._ "You did cut corners," he spat out.

She swallowed hard. "Not like you think, Sasuke, I swear," she cried, reaching out to touch him again, but he backed away. "I went through a private agency called Growing Generations. They don't only do adoptions." She paused and gathered a deep breath. "They… they also have surrogates."

"Surrogates," he repeated, but the meaning took a moment to sink in.

It didn't sink in well.

"I hired a surrogate to carry her," Sakura said, her gaze finally meeting his. "But Sarada is our baby."

* * *

Sakura waited anxiously for the fallout. And there would be fallout, she knew that from the look on Sasuke's face. She'd just dropped a bombshell to him, one that would almost certainly make him hate her even more. If that was even possible.

His gaze swept from her, to Sarada, then back and forth again. "Holy fucking shit," he repeated over and over, then he turned and walked away to the far edge of the room, as far away from her as he could get.

"I'm sorry," Sakura said, her throat constricting.

Her apology covered a multitude of sins, but not the birth of Sarada herself. Sakura would never regret having her precious baby girl, even if she'd made mistakes along the way. Well, one big mistake, anyway.

Sasuke put his hands on the side of his head. She could practically see him pull himself together, knew he hated himself for losing control in front of her. It was one of the things that had destroyed their relationship, the mask he always wore, even with her. She watched him drop his hands and turn around to face her, doing her best to meet his steely glare.

"It's true," he said. It wasn't exactly a question, but Sakura nodded anyways. "How? Why?"

Sakura decided to start from the beginning. Well, the beginning after their marriage ended, at least. "After we separated and I got the divorce papers, I was pretty shaken up," she confessed. Of course, shaken up was putting it mildly, but he didn't need to know how devastated she had been by their split. "I was expecting it, but still…"

Sasuke's scowl told her it was time to stop trekking down that particular memory lane. "There was only one of our embryos left in storage. After my miscarriages, I knew there was a better chance of it working with a surrogate than with me trying again." She shrugged and tried not to think about those two bitter miscarriages and three failed in vitro procedures. She'd wanted a baby so much, but her own body conspired against her. She'd felt like a failure as a woman and a wife, no matter what Sasuke said about not needing kids to be a family.

Sasuke seemed to freeze. Not his eyes, though. They burned into hers. "And you didn't think you should include me in that decision?"

"I knew you'd say no," she defended herself. "And I couldn't live with a no anymore, Sasuke. I wanted a baby, and I was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen."

Even if what she'd done was wrong.

His cold silence hurt, and she found herself trying to explain, just like she always did. "My doctor told me I couldn't have any more eggs harvested for a year, maybe two, maybe not ever because of the bad reaction I had to the fertility drugs." _Bad_ was putting it mildly, but she doubted Sasuke needed to be reminded of the reaction that had almost killed her. "One fertilized embryo was a long shot, but it was the only shot I had."

"So you hired a surrogate."

"Aa. I hired a surrogate named Karin to carry Sarada for me."

Sasuke swore and looked away again. He opened his mouth, closed it, then leaned heavily against the wall.

"I didn't tell you because I knew how you felt about being a father," Sakura said. Even to her own ears, it sounded weak.

"You knew it, but you went ahead and did things your way anyways." His voice was raw and clipped, each word hitting her like a punch to the gut.

"I never expected you to be a father to her," she snapped, stung.

"But I fucking fathered her!" he shouted, and Sarada started to whimper.

Sakura pulled the baby close and rocked her, hoping to soothe her, but babies were sensitive to moods and there was enough tension in the room to choke on. The door flew open and Sasuke protectively drew his gun again, but it was just Shizune. She looked even more concerned this time than she had when Sakura had been admitted with blood congealed across her forehead.

"Is everything okay?" she asked suspiciously. "I thought I heard someone shouting."

"Everything's fine," Sakura tried to assure her with a small smile.

Sasuke laughed humorlessly and holstered his gun again.

Shizune shot an inquisitive look at Sakura, and she nodded for the older woman to leave. Sasuke was many things, but he would never hurt her or Sarada, she knew that. At least not physically. And there was no need for an audience to their fight.

Once Shizune left again, Sasuke stalked closer to the bed, staring down at Sarada. Every muscle in his body was tight, and she saw his throat bob with emotion. "Are you going to ask me if she's really yours?" she lashed out.

Sasuke stared down at them for a few more minutes before letting out a long breath. "No."

Sakura wondered if he could see the resemblance. She certainly had, almost from the moment Sarada was born. She had his dark hair and eyes and there were times when her daughter stared at the world around her with exact same intense expression as her father. And also like her father, Sarada liked to make sure her mother never got a full night's sleep.

Sakura blushed and firmly steered her thoughts away from that dangerous direction. "I'm sorry," she repeated weakly. "If I thought I could've harvested more eggs, I wouldn't have used our embryo."

No, she would have happily used another donor's sperm, and so cut Sasuke out of her life forever. Her intentions probably didn't mean much to him now, though, considering he'd just learned he was something he never wanted to be- a father.

"I never planned on telling you," she went on, trying to reassure him. "I knew she was my baby, not ours. I don't want or expect anything from you."

That sent a flash of anger through his eyes, but he dropped his gaze from her and rested it on Sarada instead. Slowly, hesitatingly, as if he was afraid she might burn him, he brushed her cheek with his finger. "She looks like my mother," he finally said, then turned away.

Sakura wasn't sure if that was good or bad. Sasuke never talked much about his family, and she'd never officially met them. He would have ended up in foster care after his mother died if it hadn't been for Jiraiya, Naruto's uncle. Jiraiya had taken Sasuke in just like he'd taken Naruto and raised both boys like they were his own, but by then the damage had already been done. Damage that Sakura always thought she could undo with her unconditional love, but after the pain of his mother's death and brother's abandonment, Sasuke wanted nothing to do with parenthood or a family ever again. He resisted the smallest conversation about kids, refusing to even discuss names once they'd agreed to try, and he'd never wanted to go to her auntie's for Sunday night dinners.

He was a piece of work, alright. But she'd loved him- and she knew a part of her still did and probably always would, so what did that make her?

"Go ahead," she sighed. "Yell at me. Tell me how wrong and selfish I was to do this to you."

For a moment he seemed to seriously consider doing just that, but then his phone rang. He glanced down at the screen and his shoulders instantly tensed. Sakura swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up so she could see the screen.

Unknown caller.

"It could just be a telemarketer," she said feebly, but she knew in her gut it was something much worse. Just like she'd known when she first set eyes on Sasuke that he was the love of her life. There were some things in life you just _knew_.

Sasuke pushed the answer button and put the phone call on speaker.

"Don't bother tracing this, sheriff," a familiar mocking voice said. "I'm on a burner cell."

 _The driver_ , Sakura realized, heart racing once again.

"Who are you and what do you want?" she cried. Sasuke shot her an exasperated look, clearly angry that she'd stepped in.

"Oh good, I was hoping you'd be there, pinky. I wanted to tell you this isn't over."

"It is if you know what's good for you," Sasuke said simply.

The driver laughed. "It'll be over when pinky gives up the names of everyone she told."

"I told you, I don't know what you're talking about," Sakura interjected again, ignoring Sasuke's glare.

"Oh you know, Sakura. I'd go check out the surprise we left at your house if you need any more convincing."

"What surprise?" they asked together.

"You'll find out," the mocking voice said cheerfully. "You're a dead woman, Haruno Sakura, and this time your deputy won't be able to save you."

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes:**_ **Many heartfelt thank you's to all my followers, readers and ESPECIALLY my reviewers! Your feedback means so much to me and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this chapter. I hope you enjoyed this latest installment and getting some answers, since Kishi sure as heck didn't give us any in Gaiden Chapter 2. *insert rant***

 **To pinkypinkypinky and to one of my guests (I love when you leave your name so I can thank you personally), my thoughts exactly! I swear if Kishi makes someone else Sarada's parents I will stop reading the manga (for all of three weeks until my resolve weakens, at least)! I am so sick of all the crap he piles on my favorite characters. I mean, it looks like everyone else got a happily ever after, so why not Sasu/Saku?**

 **To ohsoblue, LightThePyre and UrusaiGenni, I'm glad you like it so far and I hope you like this next chapter just as much!**

 **To sasukesakura7, don't worry, An Uchiha's Heart is not forgotten! I'm about halfway through the next chapter, but visions of a sexy police officer uniform-clad Sasuke keep distracting me. :)**

 **And to ElevatedJewel, I'm so glad you think so. This is definitely new territory for me, so your feedback and any suggestions would be much appreciated!**

 **Next up: we meet Sakura's private investigator and attorney, and the plot thickens... :)**


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